Tombs and Deceptions
by savedprincess85
Summary: Harry is on assignment in Egypt, in search of rogue Death Eaters. Written for IWSC Round 10.


_A/N: Theme for Hogwarts - Wronski Feint_

_This is a tactic used by seekers when they pretend or fool another seeker into believing that they have found the Golden Snitch. For this round, you will be writing about a character or characters who use trickery or misdirection to gain the upper hand in a competition or situation._

_Year 1_

_Prompts: Egyptian Tombs and Pyramids (main prompt) __Firebolt_

_Word Count: 2496 (not including A/N)_

The sun was scorching at noon. The pyramid he was traveling next to did nothing to block the damn sun. Harry rode his trusty Firebolt under a disillusionment charm in recon for his Auror team. If only he could be riding at night - But Dolohov would be on the move again by nightfall.

His Auror team had been tracking missing Death Eaters for months now. Even five years after the end of the war, there were rogues out there. An anonymous tip had led them to Egypt and the tombs the ancient country held. Harry hoped that his team would be the ones to bring the vile man in. Harry was not going to forgive Dolohov for almost killing his best friend in the Department of Mysteries. Not today, and probably not any time soon.

Harry changed the direction of his flight on a whim. He was only supposed to cover the few kilometers around the Great Pyramids, but something caught his eye not too far out of his flight zone. It was an unnatural flash of blue against the desert sand. As Harry lowered his altitude, he saw it again. He was going in the right direction to find... well, something. Whether it was Dolohov or random witches and wizards remained to be seen.

Thankfully, in addition to being built for speed, the Firebolt had a specialized silencing charm on it to prevent early awareness of his flying closer to the disturbance.

As Harry flew, he passed through a Muggle repelling charm and stopped immediately. He did not want to set off any wards around the hideout.

His team had spoken to the Egyptian Ministry of Magic, and they had confirmed that no known wizarding families were living in the area. It should be relatively clear of all magic users, so a Muggle repelling charm would be out of place unless someone wanted to hide.

Harry was unsure of what to do at this point. He hadn't set off any alarms to alert the person in hiding, but he wasn't sure who it was either. Protocol dictated that he get as much information before calling in the rest of the team. It could just be a family who didn't want to be known, but why would the Egyptian Ministry know nothing about them?

He took out his map and marked the position. Then looked around one more time, noticing the smaller of the Great Pyramids to his right about half a kilometer away. The crack of apparition filled the air, and a man dressed in a dark robe appeared a few meters away from Harry's position. A sudden gust of wind blew the man's hood off his head revealing Theodore Nott Sr., another rogue Death Eater. If his team could capture both Nott and Dolohov, it would put a major dent in the dangerous activity around the United Kingdom. It was well known that Nott and Dolohov were the ringleaders of the Death Eaters now.

He watched as Nott waved his wand and dropped the wards. On the other side had been hidden a bunker built in the sand. Nott stepped through and put the wards back into place immediately. The scene changed back to an empty desert with the return of the wards.

Harry turned and flew back between the pyramids toward the Auror base. The sun was past its zenith now. He needed to hurry to get the plan of attack set before Dolohov disappeared again.

HPHP

"We can't attack yet! You have failed to get enough information, Potter! Did you see anyone else? Was Dolohov actually there?" Robards argued loudly.

Harry took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes in frustration, "Sir, with all due respect, I saw Nott Sr. arrive. Dolohov was more than likely waiting for him to arrive. We could take two of the vilest men in the wizarding world today, but we have to act now!"

"Potter, you may be the boy who killed Voldemort, but you are not in charge here. I am, and I say we wait until we have more information." Robards pointed his finger into Harry's chest.

Harry looked at the man before him. He realized at that moment that Robards was not going to attempt to capture the Death Eaters. He had noticed for months now that Robards was dragging his feet towards most of his work. If only he had Hermione here to help put the pieces together. She could puzzle this out instantly.

"Yes, sir," Harry spoke through gritted teeth. His anger and frustration only grew as the man in front of him nodded and turned away.

"Alright, we will continue recon on the area. Potter, you continue near the pyramids, get me more information," Robards continued to speak as Harry tuned the man out.

He was not partnered with Ron anymore, so he didn't have someone to talk to about his concerns. Ron had quit as an Auror a year ago and was working with George. This was a team mission so the group of five Aurors worked together to gather information and finish the assignment.

Harry would have to figure out a way to get into the stronghold and take out Dolohov. Then something that Robards had said clicked in his head. The hideout was near one of the smaller pyramids. Could they be tunneling underneath to get to the tombs inside?

HPHP

Harry flew through the desert for the second time that day, except this time, he had a destination in mind. He was going to scout the area for hidden tunnels. Unbeknownst to the Auror team, Hermione had developed a spell that allowed someone to sonar the ground. She developed it for the Auror team, but it was still in testing. Harry only knew about it because Hermione showed it to him while he was in the office a few months ago before she left on her own secret mission.

He whispered the spell when he was a few feet above the sand and found nothing. He flew a few meters closer to the Muggle repelling ward and cast the charm again. It revealed a tunnel with two figures walking through it, toward the pyramid to his right. The wards must only protect the entrance to the hideout, not the actual tunnel.

Harry followed the figures, casting the spell every few feet. When his broom bumped into the pyramid, because he was so focused on the ground, he almost fell off the Firebolt. It was with regret that he gave up trying to see through the ground, the pyramid was much too thick. He would have to look around and attempt to find the actual tomb entrance. If only he had Hermione! She would know the spell to find the entrance. He should have paid more attention during her lectures about Egypt and its tombs.

He circled the pyramid, looking for an entrance on the crumbled limestone. After a few minutes of searching, he found the door sunk into the side of the monolith. Harry landed and stayed under his concealment charm. He wasn't sure if he should return and tell anyone, or just bring Dolohov in himself.

The sun was setting as he made the decision to enter the tomb and find real evidence that Dolohov and Nott Sr. were in fact in the tombs, vulnerable to attack. He shrunk his Firebolt and put it in his pocket for safe keeping. The tomb would be quite difficult to fly through as he drew closer to the darker artifacts the Egyptians buried with their royalty.

He walked for fifteen minutes before he began hearing voices echoing off the walls. He could make out Dolohov's Russian accent and Nott's English lilt. There was also a third voice, but he couldn't tell who was speaking or make out any of the words spoken. Harry walked closer to the voices, watching where he was going because rocks littered the floor the closer to the voices he walked.

Harry crept forward, thanking his stars that he was a wizard and not a Muggle. He turned another corner and discovered a room that had been ransacked. The voices were closer, possibly in the next room over, so Harry walked slowly through the room. He made it to the door on the other side of the cluttered room but found nothing. Torches were burning in the room, but no one was there. He heard voices, but they were further away and seemed to be muffled. Harry walked along the wall, around the artifacts, but as he walked past a portion of the limestone wall, the torches went out and all was silent.

"Damn," Harry whispered as he tried to back out the way he came in pitch darkness. He didn't want to light his way until he was out of this room. He tripped over a stone that was in the walkway, and fell on his butt, bruising it, more than likely.

He sat there listening, hoping that no one heard his tumble. He heard the voices on the other side of the wall to his left. Harry moved to crawl forward, the voices becoming louder the more he moved down the wall. He felt along the wall and discovered a circular indention just small enough for the toe of a boot to press down and open the passage.

He stood up, keeping his toe in front of the button, pulled out his wand and waved it over himself, casting a shield, making sure he was still invisible and readied for a surprise attack. Harry took a deep breath and pressed the button. The wall slid open, the light on the other side of the room was dim and didn't blind him. Inside the room were four-fold up tables covered in Egyptian artifacts. Harry knew very little of Egyptian history, so he couldn't be sure what he was looking at. He waved his wand, and the spell didn't reveal anything dark, so Harry walked further into the room.

He walked through the room to the narrow stairwell that led down into the pyramid, the voices grew subsequently louder, but he could tell that they were walking away from him, further into the tomb. Harry could now make out that one of the voices was a woman's voice, and it sounded familiar, like a warm blanket.

"Mr. Nott, are you sure that this pyramid has the dark artifact? I have found nothing during excavation, and there are only two more rooms to go to. You promised me the Scarab of Death," the feminine voice spoke with irritation.

"Bastian, you will get the Scarab of Death. The Aurors are near, and you having been dragging your feet. Why haven't you finished excavating the last two rooms?" Harry heard Nott challenge.

"I have started, but my workers are exhausted, and we have had many unforeseen setbacks. You know this. Egypt is one of the most difficult sites to excavate. You must be patient. One more week, and we should be finished. If the Scarab is not here though, there will be hell to pay," the voice that belonged to Bastian ground out.

Harry continued to move forward, toward the voices, who had stopped walking and were in the tunnel ahead of him. It was narrow with torches every few meters, lighting the path. Nott Sr. and Bastian were speaking near the next doorway. He saw Bastian and his mouth fell open. The woman had blonde curly hair, small pixie-like facial features, and a very familiar challenging look on her face. She was challenging none other than a very tall, imposing Nott Sr.

Harry recognized Hermione, even though her features were slightly different from normal. He had known her since he was eleven, cosmetic changes would not confuse him. Her secret mission must have been to be undercover in Egypt, thus all her knowledge on Egyptology before she left.

He followed them as they walked through the doorway. Hermione turned around and winked at Harry. She must know he was there! He had no idea how, but that witch was brilliant. Harry walked behind them a few feet and found a room similar to the room he left, but with sevenfold up tables covered in artifacts, this time much more organized at least on first glances.

Dolohov was waiting in this room, picking up different Egyptian artifacts and casting what looked like diagnostic spells on the items.

"Dolohov, you better not break those priceless items," Hermione warned as she walked through the room.

Dolohov put down the vase he was holding and looked at Hermione, "I would not dare," he smirked at her. Harry frowned at the scene, unsure of what to do.

"Good," she replied looking to Nott Sr. whose attention was on the door in front of him. Hermione walked toward Harry, casting various diagnostic spells as she moved. When she was standing a foot from Harry, she whispered, almost to quietly to be heard, "Take Dolohov. I will take down Nott."

Harry tapped twice on her hand, to let her know he understood. He cast a silent _Stupify_ on Dolohov at the same time as Hermione cast an _Incarcerous_ on Nott Sr. The two men were captured in no time at all.

"How the hell did you know I was here, Hermione?" Harry asked incredulously as he floated Dolohov out of the tomb.

"A girl never reveals her secrets," Hermione responded cheekily.

Harry shook his head at Hermione's sass. "Hermione, I really missed you. I think I really need to pay more attention when you are doing training for missions."

"Harry, you wouldn't be you if you listened to me when I taught you something," Hermione laughed as they mounted their brooms, attaching the rogue Death Eaters to harnesses, especially for prisoners.

Harry laughed as they flew through the night sky. Hermione had since changed her hair and skin back to normal. "How did they not know who you were though? You didn't change yourself that much."

"Oh, that is easy! I cast a distraction spell on my face. They couldn't focus on my face for very long without being distracted. That's why Dolohov was casting spells on the artifacts when you arrived. He was becoming suspicious. I was glad you had arrived. I probably had another day before they tried to figure me out. They were getting antsy with your team so near." Hermione explained as they flew near the Great Pyramid.

"I'm glad I went with my instincts then, rather than waiting for Robards to do something. That man needs to be replaced," he spoke angrily, thinking of the danger his best friend had been in.

Hermione nodded, "You should replace him, Harry. You have had enough time and enough Death Eaters have been caught by your own hand for you to get in on something other than killing Voldemort."

"I'll think about it," Harry said smiling.


End file.
